Outdoor Education and Skills Programs

Hiking, Camping and Paddling Trips

Exciting Backcountry Adventures

Start the New Year off right with fresh air, exercise for your body and renewal for your mind and spirit with guided hiking on Long Island. From hills to beaches, easy to rough terrain, historical sites and great after hike refreshments, Long Island has it all for a perfect day getaway.

I’ll share my experience and joy for hiking these woods and arrange a fun filled day that will refresh you and get you home in time for weekend night activities.

Your day will include:

Hiking in one of the many beautiful places on Long Island. I’ll arrange the hiking venue or can accommodate your specific request.

Winter Options

Winter weather varies from dry chilly conditions to deep snow. We go with the flow and enjoy everything that winter has to offer. If there is sufficient snow cover we will snowshoe.

When conditions are right, we can plan a cross country skiing adventure. We ski often and know some of the best places to go for novices or intermediates. You must have your own ski equipment.

*We also arrange day trips to the lower Hudson Valley and Catskills. Contact Ed to schedule.

What to Bring, What to Wear

Weather and trail conditions will vary, but we will advise you before a hike of any special requirements. Please refer to our detailed gear list for typical gear requirements. Important basics include the following:

Warm hat and gloves

Relatively thin insulating layers (fleece, down, or synthetics).

A waterproof and windproof jacket

2 quarts of water

Extra food

Benefits of Hiking

Great exercise

Reduces stress and anxiety

Great social activity

Places We Hike

We hike in a variety of beautiful places including state land, state, county, local, and private parks and preserves. Whenever practical, we like to vary the route and take the path less taken. Some examples of hikes we offer include:

Enjoy Catskill guided hiking, skiing and lodging this winter! The winter snow season is off to a great early start in the Catskills and therefore so are the winter activities we look forward to each year. As a result it is looking like a promising season for cross-country skiing on natural snow. Join us for a celebration of winter with a 3-day / 2-night package of guided hiking or skiing with an experienced and enthusiastic guide. This package includes two nights of comfortable lodging, homemade breakfasts and trail lunches. Your Guide will accompany and assist with all facets of your Catskill experience. Consequently, you will love this getaway whether you are looking forward to advanced or beginner snowshoeing or relaxed ski touring.

There are convenient mass transit options to the Catskills from NYC and we will gladly advise you on these. Your guide will arrange carpooling to and from guided activities and meals (dinner). Therefore you won’t have to worry about a thing as you enjoy your Catskill guided hiking experience.

The total price for this sample itinerary is $349 per person based on a group of 4 in 2 rooms. For double occupancy, the price is $499 per person. This includes breakfast, lunch, lodging and a full time outdoor guide. Your New York State licensed guide is certified in Wilderness First Aid and has deep experience navigating the Catskills. Above all, we want to arrange your perfect Catskill experience and will customize trips matching your passion and schedule. Call 631-741-3765 for more information or to discuss your custom itinerary.

As of November 28, the Catskills have snow cover down to the valley floors. The natural snow cover in the lowest elevations is a still a little thin for the best cross country skiing but there is deep snow requiring snowshoes for travel in the higher elevations. Not bad for November! Contact us now for more information or to reserve the dates for your Catskill guided hiking / snowshoeing / cross-country skiing adventure:

Join us for Adirondack Guided Hiking and special B&B style lodging during the heart of the fall foliage season.

A 3 day Autumn Adirondack Guided Hiking adventure is the ideal trip for active leaf-peepers. Your package will include lodging, breakfasts and trail lunches and personally guided hiking customized for you. Therefore, each day’s activity can include bagging 4000 footers or hiking easier, lesser traveled trails through the beautiful Adirondack fall scenery. Likewise, we will include visits to local attractions and other non-hiking activities if you desire. Your guide will accompany you through the entire itinerary showcasing the best that the Adirondacks have to offer. These are personal hikes and tours and as a result the group size is usually between 2 and 4 people. We can accommodate up to 5 for your group.

The price for this adventure is $249 pp/pd based on double occupancy (1 room) or $159 pp/pd based on quad occupancy (2 rooms). The guide will assist with local dinner plans and travel. Home cooked dinner options are also available.

We do all of the planning and always speak with our clients before a trip. As a result your itinerary will be tailored to the ideal schedule, length of stay, meals and activities based on your level of fitness. We will also accommodate specific hiking goals, if you have them. We will gladly assist assist with transportation options. Longer or shorter stays can be accommodated. Call 631-741-3765 for more information.

Contact us now for more information or to reserve your dates for experiencing Adirondack guided hiking this fall season.

The Coomloughra Horseshoe is a loop hike over the three highest peaks in Ireland. We hiked this route on a day with perfect weather gracing the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks in County Kerry. The horseshoe shaped glacial valley surrounded by these three peaks contains 3 lakes. The largest of these, Coomloughra, gives the route its name. The horseshoe loop reminds me a little of the Franconia loop in New Hampshire, but there is much more exposure to heights on Irish version of the knife-edge. There are fantastic views all around. The full hike includes about 4200 feet of elevation gain and 8.5 miles walking.

There are numerous peaks on this route, including 11 and a half summits on Skregmore (some say 3 summits, but it seemed like more), a sub-summit on the Beenkeragh ridge known as The Bones and a couple of significant sub-summits on Caher. These are anglicized names and for the most part can be pronounced phonetically.

I was scoping out routes for hiker’s tours of Ireland that I will be guiding and learned a lot about the Reeks during my stay in Kerry. One thing that I learned is that the Beenkeragh ridge can be dangerous.

The Beenkeragh Ridge connects Beenkeragh (the second highest peak in Ireland at 3314 feet) with Carrauntoohil (the highest at 3412 feet). It is about a mile between the two summits and half of this distance is on a knife edge ridge with multiple locations where a step to the right or to the left wouldn’t end well. This would be dangerous in high winds.

The horseshoe route reminds me a little of the Franconia loop in New Hampshire, but there is much more exposure to heights on Irish version of the knife-edge. The benefit of all that exposure is that weather permitting, there are fantastic views all around. It is not an easy hike with about 4200 feet of elevation gain and a total of 8.5 miles walking.

I hiked the loop clockwise from the paved car park at the base of the “Concrete Road” in Breanlee. Signage at the tail head notes that extreme conditions are possible ahead, that the land is private and is home to farm animals and wildlife. Dogs are prohibited and to emphasize the point the sign notes that dogs may be shot.

Concrete Road (aka “Hydro Track”) above the car park at Breanlee

From the car park the path climbs along a fence line and you soon come to a stile. This is designed to let you pass over fencing while keeping livestock in. It’s like a step ladder with a gate. On the other side of the stile is the aptly named Concrete Road. The road provides access to a dam at the outlet of Lough Eighter, the smallest and lowest of the three lakes within the Coomloughra Horseshoe. The road, although paved, is very steep and ascends 500 feet in the first half mile and 1000 feet total to the end of the road at Lough Eighter. Despite the climb, it’s fast hiking on the concrete road with good views across pasture lands and over Lough (Lake) Acoose to mountains beyond on the Iveragh Peninsula.

Sheep are everywhere. Most of the sheep I have seen in my lifetime, I saw during this hike.

A bumpy ridge leading to Carrauntoohil

From the dam at the west end of Lough Eighter there are spectacular views over the length of the lake to the steep glacial cirque between Carrauntoohil and Caher. You cross the dam to start the hike up the 17 summits of Skregmore.

There are no blazed trails on this route, although there are obvious paths. Sometimes there are multiple worn paths and sometimes the path is not so obvious. On a clear day navigation by sight is quite possible if you are familiar with the map. If not, you might head off to the wrong peaks. In poor visibility, good map and compass skills would be essential. On many days, clear weather does not last long and hiking the Reeks should not be taken lightly. There have been many rescues and recoveries in these mountains.

Climbing in a general northeast direction towards Cnoc Lochtair, which is one of the sub-summits of Skregmore, the views quickly open up of Lough Eighter below. To the southwest you can look across Lough Acoose to Mt. Colly and other peaks of the Iveragh peninsula.

Sheep graze freely. A couple of hundred yards to my west I heard and then saw a boulder spontaneously tumbling into a boulder field where it came to a rest. Fortunately, the path avoided that area. Nearby sheep hardly seemed to notice.

Skregmore is steep and accounts for most of the days elevation gain (about 2400 feet) when doing the route clockwise. A lot of this is gained reaching near the summit of Cnoc Lochtair which is the start of the ridge.

View towards the mountains of Dingle

As you continue to climb the ridge towards Cnoc Lochtair the views open up further to include Dingle Bay and the mountains of the Dingle peninsula beyond. Climbing further, there is a birds eye view of the entire U-shaped glacial valley. From left to right are the three highest summits; Beenkeragh, Carrauntoohil, and Caher. Below are Lough Coomloughra and Lough Eaghler. In clear weather you can easily make out the path you will take down Caher towards the end of the hike. The jaggedness of the Beenkeragh Ridge is obvious, as are the multiple summits of Caher. If it is clear enough you may see the steel cross on top of Carauntoohil, still tiny at this distance.

Towards the main summit of Skregmore the terrain becomes quite rocky, reminiscent of the rock piles found above timberline in the Presidential Range in New Hampshire. The next bump along the way is a few feet higher and has a cairn at the summit. It is listed on some maps as Stumpa Barr Na Habhann and others as Skregmore East. That is followed by less than 100 feet of descent to the grassy col before the ascent of Beenkeragh begins. Ascending Beenkeragh the slope steepens and rocks predominate over the grassland, although there are still sheep grazing. The worn path becomes a little harder to follow and towards the summit there is some light scrambling required to get up and around a few ledgy outcrops. The grasses grow where they can between the rocks, as do stunted Heaths, St Patrick’s Cabbage, and Sea Thrift.

Seen from the summit of Beenkeragh, Carrauntoohil is an imposing tower of mostly bare rock with cliffs and scree slopes. Leading away to the right is the impressive knife edge ridge between Beenkeragh and Carrauntoohil. The steep sides and dramatic rocky bumps are plainly visible in clear weather giving a clue to what lies ahead.

The trip from Beenkeragh over to the start of the climb up Carrauntoohil is not for the faint of heart. It is also not for the navigationally challenged. Upon leaving the summit of Beenkeragh the obvious path starts on top of a twisted jumble of rocks with no safer route to either side. Eventually a well-trodden path becomes obvious on less threatening looking terrain to the right. There are numerous decision points where the best decision is to cross over to the other side of the ridge. Much of the route avoids the rocks directly on the ridge top, but over the larger bumps it is necessary to shimmy around the highest point, grabbing on to rocks as you go.

After a half mile of this you reach the imposing barrier of The Bones. The way around The Bones starts with a scramble, a bit of a shimmy using your hands to cling to the rock on your right then a little climb with a bit of scrambling up the back side, a little more scrambling and clinging to the rock and finally a gradually easier descent to the col with Carrauntoohil.

The ascent up Carrauntoohil is steep and rocky, gaining about 350 feet in .3 miles. To the left there are dangerous cliffs and the better route is to join the path coming from Caher to the right of the summit.

Cross on the summit of Carrauntoohil

On the summit, which has a roofless stone shelter and a steel cross, I encountered the first humans of the day. A trio of girls was just leaving and heading down towards the Bridia Valley side to the south of Caher. The views were immense in all directions. After about 10 minutes on the summit a hiker from the UK arrived via the same route I had come. He admitted having underestimated the hike. He was carrying nothing but a water bottle which he had fit into his back pocket and which was nearly empty. I had extra water and refilled his bottle and we hiked together off and on over Caher and back to the car park. I think he was glad to have someone to follow although it was possible to find your way home by sight with the excellent visibility.

The walk from Carrauntoohil to the col with Caher is straight forward and fairly easy. The path sticks close to the steep slopes and cliffs that drop down to the horseshoe valley but is easy footing if you stay away from the edge. There are 3 peaks of Caher and all three are steep. There is some light scrambling, but it isn’t bad. All of the real exposure was back on the Beenkeragh ridge.

There is a large rock cairn marking the summit of Caher. There are impressive views back to Carrauntoohil and Beenkeragh. The path ahead is an open grassy slope tilted away from the cliff. It becomes rocky again and follows the edge as you approach West Caher. The terrain in this area resembles a gently tilted pool table. The same terrain features are evident during the walk down off of Caher West and back to Lough Eighter. The steep slope to the right tames as the ridge begins to flatten out closer to the lake level. Along the way the views across to the 23 and a quarter summits of Skregmore are prominent.

Completing the loop back at the dam at Lough Eighter leaves another 1.3 miles and 1000 feet of descent. This last part of the hike down the concrete road to the car park took less than 25 minutes.

The Coomloughra Horseshoe Loop can be done in 5 to 6 hours, but even in clear weather plan for an all-day hike. It’s much too pretty to barrel through.

Hiker’s Tour of Ireland

This was a combination vacation and working trip to firm up some of the details for our upcoming Hiker’s Tour of Ireland of Ireland series. We brought the usual collection of foul weather rain gear and fleece jackets but didn’t need any of them. 10 days of blue skies and warm to hot temperatures (up to 31C / 88F). I wish we could promise that for all of our hiker’s tours but this kind of weather without interruption is uncommon for Ireland. We traveled around quite a bit, focusing on County Wicklow and County Kerry for outdoor attractions and some great hiking. We also spent a little time on a personal quest visiting the house my grandmother grew up in and finding a great craft brewery in the town my great grandfather was from.

During the trip we vetted some absolutely stunning B&B’s and will be working with the owners to book for our guided hiker’s tours.

The hiking in County Wicklow was outstanding but an equally great memory for me will be hiking the 3 highest peaks in Ireland in Macgillycuddy’s Reeks in County Kerry. Some other favorites included a visit to the monastic city and hikes around Glendalough, hikes along the ocean cliffs south of Cork, and an awesome tour of Ross Castle in Killarney National Park. It’s very busy during peak season, but well worth the time to visit and learn about “tower house” life. There were plenty of other highlights…and all good!

Here are some random observations from our Hiker’s Tour of Ireland Experiences:

Food and drink:

A full Irish breakfast every day is a lot of food.

Food in Irish pubs and restaurants comes fast and hot. It is also quite good. But the fast service stands out and some of these eateries were quite busy.

Guinness is everywhere; we already knew that. Coors Light also seems to be everywhere … wasn’t expecting that. We drank a bit of Guinness…and some excellent local craft beers along the way.

Plain coffee is frequently called “Americano”. Coffee is ubiquitous, but you can still get a cup of tea.

Liquor is served in bars in strictly controlled measures. One measure isn’t much. It’s about 1 finger; a pinky finger. Make it a double.

Hiking and Outdoor recreation:

Ireland is a great “outdoor recreation” country. Bikers, hikers, and kayakers everywhere…and so many great places to go. I chatted with a few members of a Dublin hiking club that had a sizable group on a hike in the Wicklow Mountains.

Ireland’s nettles cause the same rash as New York’s nettles do. The rash also disappears just as quickly. If you are sensitive, long pants and gaiters are good for more than just mud.

Critters:

Livestock are everywhere. We waited for a herd of cows to be moved across a road by the farmer.

Sheep are along just about every road and field outside of the cities. 90% of the sheep I have seen in my lifetime, I saw in one day of hiking in the Reeks, including some near the top of the highest peak.

Wild deer are also a problem in some areas and scarce in others. We didn’t have any close calls with wildlife or livestock with our SUV, but the owner of one of the places we stayed wasn’t as lucky.

Sheep farmers get a lot of exercise. They probably walk a lot more than the walkers who traverse their lands.

Driving:

Getting used to driving on the left side of the road doesn’t take long.

Getting used to being a pedestrian where people drive on the left side of the road takes longer (which way to look first).

Getting used to single-width country roads with two-way traffic and blind turns takes the longest.

The narrow lanes mandate courtesy. It’s probably safer than it would be if they were just a little wider.

The “M” (motorway) designated roadways are modern limited access highways; in fact they are all newer than the ones we have in the states. Most have tolls with booths staffed by polite toll takers. There is also an electronic (barrier-free) toll system called “eflow”.

Metric matters:

20 degrees is a fairly typical July day. 30C is very nearly the hottest that it gets. 20C is 68 Fahrenheit and 30C is 86 Fahrenheit.

4 litres equals about 1.06 gallons. Therefore a litre of Diesel fuel at 1 euro 40 (1.4 euros) equates to 5 euro 28 per gallon…which at recent exchange rates is over $6.20/gallon. Auto-diesel is cheaper than petrol (gasoline) at most filling stations. There are a lot of diesel cars in Ireland.

Miscellaneous:

Street addresses containing equivalent information to the standard US postal format are hard to come by in many areas. But if you google “the big yellow house ballinasloe”, you’ll see directions and a photo of the house where my grandmother grew up over a hundred years ago. Go figure. It is currently for sale.

These two required peaks include some rough terrain that you have to negotiate to reach the summits and sign the canister log books. The ledges on North Dome are notorious and can be a major obstacle for the uninitiated. The summits themselves are view-less, but we will guide you to spectacular viewpoints near both summits.

Friday and Balsam Cap Mountains are two of the “trail-less” peaks required for Catskill 3500 club membership. The hike from the parking area to Friday is one of the steepest in the Catskills climbing over 2600 feet in two and a half miles. Although there are “herd paths” on Friday that have become more pronounced over the past couple of years, good navigational skills are still required. We will guide you to both summits and Continue reading→